The Man/woman of God Pursue Godly Character:-

 The Man/woman of God Pursue Godly Character:-

Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Am I lead by the word of God /Holy Spirit or 5 senses (sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing). Leading by the word of God will help to create Godly Character and leading by the 5 senses will enable us to walk in flesh.

1 Timothy 6:11

Not only is the man of God known by what he flees (from sin) but by what he pursues (Godly Character). Paul lists six godly character traits that the man of God pursues. The word “pursue” is sometimes translated “persecute.” It refers to eagerness and diligence in going after something. It implies that godly character doesn’t happen overnight. It is something that a person continually works at for the rest of his life.

Proverbs 24:16 says, “Although a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again, but the wicked will be brought down by calamity.” Perseverance marks the righteous. They won’t live in sin; they won’t accept defeat; they fall, but they just keep getting back up. They are in pursuit of looking like their Lord Jesus.

Am I pursing godly character?

What are the six-character traits Paul lists and how do we pursue them?

1.Righteousness doesn’t refer to the believer’s imputed righteousness which we receive from Christ at salvation but outward righteousness. Because God saved us and made us righteous, believers should pursue a lifestyle of righteousness (Eph.2:10). This includes, but is not limited to, serving others, caring for the neglected, evangelizing the lost, discipling believers, and worshiping God. The man of God is in constant pursuit of these things.

2.Godliness can be translated God-likeness. The word has the connotation of reverence for God. It focuses on inward qualities instead of outward ones. A godly person has a holy reverence about them—desiring to honour, please, and reflect God in everything.

3.Faithfulness could mean dependability. The man of God is trustworthy in his endeavours. His yes means yes and his no means no. Or it could mean “faith” daily depending on God as we abide in him and seek his face ( John 15:5). The man of God knows that on his own, he can do nothing, so he constantly abides in God’s Word and prayer. He has great faith in God. Are you pursuing greater faithfulness and greater faith?

4.Love is the Greek word “agape”—referring to godlike love. Often in our culture we think that one shouldn’t have to work at love it just happens. We just “fall in love,” as it is effortless. However, that is not true of biblical love. It is an act of the will that takes work and sacrifice. God commands us to not only love our neighbour but to love our enemy. We must work to love our enemy—we must stretch ourselves. It’s the same with loving others. Are you pursuing love?

5.Endurance in the Greek means to “bear up under” something. It is how the man of God strives to go through trials and difficulties. Our natural response to trials is to quit or give up, but enduring bears gracious fruits in our lives. Romans 5:3-4 says we should rejoice in suffering because it produces perseverance (or endurance), perseverance creates character, and character hope. Sadly, instead of enduring, most waste the grace in trials by complaining, getting angry at people, and angry at God. If we endure, God can develop character in our lives through trials.

6.Gentleness refers to our response to difficult people. Instead of responding in anger or with impatience, the man of God seeks to respond in a gentle manner. It has the connotation of power under control. How do you respond to difficult people?

Are you pursuing godly character? God has kept on earth, among the saved and unsaved people, to enable us to learn the Godly Character required to live in heaven and also teach other about Godly character. Am I constantly working on it. Remember It doesn’t just happen—it must be continually pursued so that the worldly Character which is erected or constructed by us due to our wrongful thinking, patters and habits be erased and new one as per the word of God, be over written on our mind.

God bless you

“Whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him”. (Ecclesiastes 10:8)

                     “Whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him”.           

                     (Ecclesiastes 10:8)

 

To be bitten by a snake can be deadly; the poison, if not treated, can be lethal. God puts His hedge of protection around your life; however, you can cause little breaks to appear, little holes through which the enemy of souls can come in by his cunning craftiness, then fix his poisoned fangs onto you, sinking into the very fabric of your spiritual life.

How can you break a hedge?

You can break a hedge by wrong ungodly attitudes

You can break a hedge by having sinful thoughts and ways

You can break a hedge by having unforgiveness

You can break a hedge by backsliding

You can break a hedge through disobedience to the will of God.

There is a story in the Old Testament of the people of Israel who, because of their sinful ways, were bitten by poisonous snakes. This is what God told Moses what to do in Numbers 21:7 to 8, “The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So, Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’”

Look upon the cross of Calvary and live, look to Jesus, by faith, and live. If the serpent has bitten you, if sin has had a hold on your life, the cure is found in Jesus Christ. Someone once said, “Life is short, death is sure, sin the cause, Christ the cure.”

My friend, how can you fix up the hedge? How do you restore His protection over your life? Repent before the Lord, and ask His forgiveness if you have sinned. Let Him restore the broad wall, let Him repair your spiritual hedge, and let Him fill the break in the hedge by His love, mercy and grace. Walk in the spirit and you will not gratify the sinful desires of the flesh. As you do so you will walk in His victory. Today, may God cover you with His love, and may He restore your hedge of protection. So instead of the serpents of sin fixing their fangs on you and biting you because of the breakage in the hedge because of sin, embrace God’s forgiveness, so you may walk in victory over sin and crush the enemy ( the serpent of sin) under your feet.

God bless you

What does the Bible say about FATE / DESTINY?

This is a very complex issue, and we will start with what the Bible does not teach. Fate is usually thought of as a predetermined course of events beyond human control. if we can’t change destiny, then why even try? Whatever happens, happens, and we can’t do anything about it. This is called “FATALISM” and it is not Biblical.

Fatalism is a major premise of Islam, which demands total submission to the sovereignty of Allah. It is widely held in Hinduism, too. Greek mythology told of the Moirai, or the Fates, three goddesses pictured as weavers of men’s lives. Their decisions could not be cancelled or annulled, even by other gods. Again, fatalism is not a Biblical Concept.

Fate and destiny -Our free Will:

The Bible teaches that Man was created with the ability to make moral choices and that he is responsible for those choices. The Fall of Man was not a predetermined event in which Adam and Eve were helpless victims of a Puppet-Master God. On the contrary, Adam and his wife had the ability to choose obedience (with its attendant blessing) or disobedience (with its consequent curse). They knew what the result of their decision would be and they were held accountable. (Genesis 3 )

This theme of being held accountable for our choices continues throughout Scripture. “He who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Proverbs 22:8a). “All hard work brings a profit, / but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23). “Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will command you” (Romans 13:3).

Often, when the Bible speaks of destiny, it’s in reference to a destiny people have brought upon themselves: “Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction” (Philippians 3:18-19). “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves” (Psalm 49:13). “A man who commits adultery lacks judgment; / whoever does so destroys himself” (Proverbs 6:32). “Each person was judged according to what he had done” (Revelation 20:13).

 We sin because we choose to. We can’t blame “Fate,” kismet, predestination, or God. James 1:13-14 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

Interestingly, many people who choose to sin are annoyed by the negative consequences of their sin. “A man’s own folly ruins his life, / yet his heart rages against the LORD” (Proverbs 19:3). This is a very insightful verse. When a man foolishly wrecks his life, he may yet insist on blaming God, or perhaps “Fate.” In this way, he persists in his folly.

Scripture also teaches that we choose to have faith. The oft-repeated command in Scripture to believe implies that we do have a choice in the matter. “Be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27; see also Acts 16:31; 19:4).

Fate and Destiny -God’s Sovereignty:

Lest we get the wrong idea, we are not the sovereign masters of our fate. Only God is sovereign. His sovereign control is called “providence.” He has chosen to give us a free will, and He has created a moral universe in which the law of cause-and-effect is a reality. But God is God alone, and there are no accident in the universe.

An all-wise, all-powerful God must have a plan, so it should be no surprise that the Bible speaks of a divine plan. God’s plan, since it belongs to God, is holy, wise, and benevolent. The providence of God is working to bring about His original plan for creation.

God speaks in Isaiah 48:3, “I foretold the former things long ago, / my mouth announced them and I made them known; / then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.” What God announces, He does (and He may announce it centuries ahead of time.  

Fighting against the plan of God is pointless. “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan / that can succeed against the LORD” (Proverbs 21:30). This is why the Tower of Babel was never completed (Genesis 11:1-9), why Daniel’s detractors were thrown to the lions (Daniel 6:24), why Jonah spent time inside a fish (Jonah 1:17) and why I get trouble when I sin.

Even what we would normally call “chance” or “fate” is under God’s control. “The lot is cast into the lap, / but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). In other words, God does not take a “hands-off” approach to running the world.

Everything that happens in the world is made to work out according to God’s purpose. Evil exists, but it is not allowed to thwart God’s providence. God uses even sinful men for His purposes. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; / he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1). God worked in the hearts of the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36) and King Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:27) to bring about His purpose. Even when Man’s intent is purely evil, God can still bring about His will, as in the case of those who crucified Jesus (Acts 2:23,4:27-28).

 God’s plan includes a reward for those who trust in Him, and He promises to glorify His children. “We speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. . . . As it is written: ‘No eye has seen, / no ear has heard, / no mind has conceived / what God has prepared for those who love him’” (1 Corinthians 2:7-9). Note the use of the word destined in this passage—and that it’s a destiny based on our love for the Lord.

Fate and Destiny -An Individual Plan:

God’s sovereignty reaches even to a plan for our individual lives. This is illustrated in God’s calling of Jeremiah—before the prophet was even born. “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, / before you were born I set you apart; / I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeramiah 1:4-5)

David also recognized that the Lord had a plan for him. “Your eyes saw my unformed body. / All the days ordained for me / were written in your book / before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). Because of this knowledge, David sought the Lord’s specific guidance in many situations, such as in 1 Samuel 23:9-12.

Fate and Destiny -Putting it all together.

In Acts 9, Jesus appears to Saul of Tarsus with an interesting statement: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (verse 5). Jesus obviously had a plan for Saul, and Saul had been (painfully) resisting it. Exercising our freedom against God’s plan can be painful. 

 Later, Jesus tells Saul that a man named Ananias would come to visit —and then Jesus tells Ananias (verses 11-12)! Obviously, Jesus had a pre-arranged plan for Ananias as well. Now, Ananias didn’t want to visit Saul (verse 13-14). He could have been like Jonah and run the other way. If that had been his choice, God would have had a “fish” prepared to bring him back. Fortunately, Ananias obeyed (verse 17). Exercising our freedom to follow God’s plan brings a blessing. 

 In summary, the Bible teaches that God is in charge. At the same time, He has given us the freedom to obey or disobey Him, and there are some things that God does only in answer to prayer (James 4:2).

God blesses the obedient, and He is patient with those who disobey, even to the point of seeming laxity. He has a plan for our lives, which includes our joy and His glory both in this world and in the world to come. Those who accept Christ as Savior have accepted God’s plan (John 14:6). From then on, it’s a step-by-step following of God’s best for us, praying for His will to be done (Matthew 6:10), and avoiding the sidetrack of sin (Psalm 32:1-11; 119:59; Hebrews 12:1-2).

What does the Bible say about respect?

ANSWER

The apostle Peter summarizes the Bible’s teaching on respect in his first Epistle: “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king” (1 Peter 2:17). This passage encompasses four major areas of our lives, teaching us that, as followers of Christ, we should respect all people, other Christians, God, and governmental authorities. The word respect is a translation of the Greek word timēsate, meaning “honour or value.” It literally means “to place a great value or high price on something.” Interestingly, today we tend to place our values on our personal rights and the equality of humanity. However, biblical respect is far different, more about a perceived inequality in that we recognize that some things and some people are more important than we. (Compare Philippians 2:3).

To respect everyone, believers must be conscious that God has created all people in His image, regardless of whether they believe in Christ. We should show them proper respect and honor because their souls are of more value than all the wealth in the world (Luke 10:33-34,1Corintghian10:33:34)

Loving the brotherhood of believers means to love all believers, regardless of color, nationality, opinions, or affiliations. We are to demonstrate to the world that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. The apostle John wrote of this principle a number of times. Quoting Jesus, he writes, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”John 13:34-35,John3:23)

The word fear is a translation of the Greek word phobeisthe, meaning “fear, dread, and respect.” The word also implies that our fear of Him leads us to total obedience (Leviticus 18:4; Psalm 119:67; John 14:15). Though we are to honor the king, we should “fear” God (compare Deuteronomy 10:12; Isaiah 8:13). The bottom line is that it is God alone whom we Should fear in the sense of having an awed respect.

We honour and respect our governing authorities because they exist by the very will of God (Romans 13:1–7). Such respect must be given whether we agree with them or not. Those in authority are God’s instruments for carrying out the purpose of governing and worthy of the respect God mandates. When we obey the principles of this passage, we give genuine credibility to our faith. As believers, we are to honour our governing authorities and their rights as such. But we may not give to the government those rights that belong to God alone (Luke 20:25).

Christians are to be a people of order and discipline, of righteousness and justice. We are to be dynamic examples of love and peace so that others may be won to Christ and be saved for eternity (Matthew 5:14–16). Part of living as examples of Christ before the watching world is showing respect to others.

What does the Bible say about Christian character?

 

ANSWER: Character is defined as strength of moral Nature. A.W. Tozer described character as “the excellence of moral beings.” As the excellence of gold is its purity and the excellence of art is its beauty, so the excellence of man is his character. Persons of character are noted for their honesty, ethics, and charity. Descriptions such as “man of principle” and “woman of integrity” are assertions of character. A lack of character is moral deficiency, and persons lacking character tend to behave dishonestly, unethically, and uncharitably.

A person’s character is the sum of his or her disposition, thoughts, intentions, desires, and actions. It is good to remember that character is gauged by general tendencies, not on the basis of a few isolated actions. We must look at the whole life. For example, King David was a man of good character (1 Samuel 13:14) although he sinned on occasion (2 Samuel 11). And although King Ahab may have acted nobly once (1 Kings 22:35), he was still a man of overall bad character (1 Kings 16:33). Several people in the Bible are described as having noble character: Ruth (Ruth 3:11), Hanani (Nehemiah 7:2), David (Psalm 78:72), and Job (Job 2:3). These individuals’ lives were distinguished by persistent moral virtue.

Character is influenced and developed by our choices. Daniel “resolved not to defile himself” in Babylon (Daniel 1:8), and that godly choice was an important step in formulating an unassailable integrity in the young man’s life. Character, in turn, influences our choices. “The integrity of the upright guides them” (Proverbs 11:3a). Character will help us weather the storms of life and keep us from sin (Proverbs 10:9a).

It is the Lord’s purpose to develop character within us. “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3). Godly character is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification. Character in the believer is a consistent manifestation of Jesus in his life. It is the purity of heart that God gives becoming purity in action. God sometimes uses trials to strengthen character: “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). The Lord is pleased when His children grow in character. “You test the heart and are pleased with integrity” (1 Chronicles 29:17; see also Psalm 15:1-2).

We can develop character by controlling our thoughts (Philippians 4:8), practicing Christian virtues (2 Peter 1:5-6), guarding our hearts (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 15:18-20), and keeping good company (1 Corinthians 15:33). Men and women of character will set a good example for others to follow, and their godly reputation will be evident to all (Titus 2:7-8).

What does it mean that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4)?

 After observing rampant worldliness in the lives of his readers, James launches into a warning (James 4:1–17) with this harsh assessment:

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4, ESV). Enmity is animosity, the state of being actively opposed to someone.

A common biblical metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness in our relationship with God is adultery (e.g., Jeremiah 3:20; Ezekiel 16). Nowhere is this imagery more evident than in the book of Hosea (Hosea 2:1–23). While God showed unfailing love to Israel, they responded with faithlessness, immorality, and idolatry.

Scripture depicts God as the husband of His people (Isaiah 54:5; 2 Corinthians 11:2) and believers as His bride (Jeremiah 2:2; 2; Ephesians 5:22–33; Revelation 21:7, 9). So, when James calls his readers “adulterers and adulteresses” (James 4:4, NKJV), the implication is clear. To the God who has loved His people unsparingly and relentlessly, what could be more painful than their heartless betrayal?

James calls out a challenge to people who have turned their hearts away from God and fallen in love with the world.

When he speaks of “the world,” he means the world system or world order, consisting of people whose beliefs, values, and morals are in opposition and rebellion to God’s. The goals and objectives of “the world” are in direct contrast to God’s commands. To cling to the world/people of the world is to choose enmity with God.

James warns believers not to cultivate a lifestyle that resembles “friendship with the world/people of this wprld.” We must never pursue the ideals, morals, goals, or purposes of the world /people of this world but instead “seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

Through repetition, James emphasizes that “friendship with the world/people of this world /world system is enmity with God” and “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world /people of this world /world system makes himself an enemy of God.” With the same Greek word translated “enmity” in James 4:4, Paul denounces the worldly mindset: “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7–8).

We must be careful not to deceive ourselves into thinking that we can live in close fellowship with God and, at the same time, set our hearts on the things of this world/people of this world/world system.

We must “remember what happened to Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32, NLT). The apostle Paul teaches Christians to cultivate a singular focus: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1–3, NLT).

What does friendship with the world/people of this world /world system look like? How can we be sure we’re not setting ourselves up to be enemies of God?. Let us check keeping in view the above worlds of God.

One clear indication that we have made friends with the world is our behaviour.

Are we acting like the people of the world? Do we quarrel, covet, and fight (James 4:1–2)?

Do we “harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition” in our hearts?

Do we “boast” and “deny the truth?”

Do we “find disorder and every evil practice” in our lives?

Or instead, do we display “deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom?”

Are we “peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere”

(James 3:13–18)? Friendship with the world/people of this world rubs off on our character/overwrite our character.

If anything, or anyone takes a more important place in our lives than our relationship with God and Jesus Christ, we have probably entered into friendship with the world and enmity with God.

One commentator writes, “Love for God and love for the world are mutually exclusive” (Dibelius, M., & Greeven, H., James: A Commentary on the Epistle of James, Fortress Press, 1976, p. 220).

Jesus confirmed, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).

Pursuing friendship with the world puts us at odds with God and in danger of forfeiting our souls (Mark 8:36). On the other hand, if we seek intimate fellowship with Jesus by giving up our own way, taking up our cross and following Him, we gain everything we need in this life and in the one to come.

If we try to hang on to the old worldly way of life, Jesus said we will end up losing everything. But if we give up our lives to cultivate friendship with Christ for the sake of the gospel, then we gain salvation and everlasting life with Him (Mark 8:35).

What dead to sin and alive to God means?

 What do you mean by dead to sin and alive to God ?

 How would you describe the persistence of sin in your life? Many Christians, even though they are sincerely committed to following Christ, continue to live with besetting sins. They continue to feel as if they are powerless to overcome the impulse to act against God's commands and their own better judgment. It's easy to believe this is just the way things are. Nobody's perfect, right? Pretending like we are feels self-righteous or hypocritical. Popular culture accepts, and sometimes celebrates, the fact that we each have our deep and personal hang ups. Everyone has a skeleton in her closet. It's not a matter of if you have an addiction, a secret indulgence, a private vice. It's a matter of which one and when it will come to light. If this is true, maybe we should just accept our weaknesses and embrace them as part of who we are.

But here the Scriptures stop us. A persistent theme of the New Testament, especially in the letters by Paul, is that the sinful habits we find so hard to shake are not an integral part of us. We are not condemned to sin forever. Instead, Paul insists that Christians can be "dead to sin." As John Wesley explained it, this means being "[f]reed both from the guilt and from the power of it." That's a counter-cultural message in a society convinced we're all broken beyond repair.

Dead in Sin

It is true that left to our own devices we are all doomed to struggle unsuccessfully against our sinful tendencies. That's because before we can ever hope to be "dead to sin," all of us are born "dead in sin." Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1 that before we become Christians, we are all "dead in [our] transgressions and sins." Of course he does not mean that we are physically dead. Rather, the life of a person who has not experienced new life in Christ is characterized by spiritual death. This means that person is separated from God's salvation. But it also means that it is impossible for that person to produce spiritual fruit, to show signs of life. Imagine such a person as a dead branch broken from a tree in a storm. Where it lies on the ground, separated from its source of nourishment, it will never again produce tender buds or green leaves or sweet fruit.

The Reformation theologian John Calvin summarized the situation this way in his commentary on Ephesians 2:1: "He [Paul] does not mean simply that they were in danger of death; but he declares that it was a real and present death under which they labored. As spiritual death is nothing else than the alienation of the soul from God, we are all born as dead men, and we live as dead men, until we are made partakers of the life of Christ."

According to Romans 5, we are in this predicament because of the sin of the first human, Adam. Sin entered the world "through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people" (Rom. 5:12). Now the only way we can find liberation from sin is through death, for "anyone who has died has been set free from sin" (Rom. 6:7). As if that were not bad news enough, matters get worse. If we die physically without being reconciled to God through Christ, then we also die spiritually and spend eternity separated from him.

So there we are: because of the sin of Adam, we are that broken branch, separated from our source of life. And as a branch is helpless to change its circumstances, so are we. Humans are totally dependent upon God for life. Without his intervention, we will be forever dead in sin.

Dead to Sin

That's the bad news. But Paul also delivers very good news. Remember that the only way to be free of sin is through death. Fortunately there is a way to die to sin without suffering physical death. Paul explains in Romans 6 that those who are in Christ, by faith and through baptism (v. 3), participate in his death on the cross. "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin" (v. 6). In other words, because Christ died, those who are united with Christ have died, too. Moreover, Christ did not stay dead; God raised him from the dead. And just as we participate in Christ's death through faith, we also participate in his resurrection: "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him" (v. 8).

This makes us "dead to sin" and "alive to God in Christ Jesus" (v. 11). Being dead to sin means that sin no longer has jurisdiction over us. Returning to the image of the dead branch, imagine that it has been grafted onto a live tree by a master gardener. Now its brittle limbs become limber again. It produces buds and leaves and fruit. Although it was previously characterized by death, now it is characterized by life. In Christ, all is made new. Though in our natural condition we are dead in sin, through Christ we are dead to sin.

Living Alive to Christ

Paul seems to prefer to use the more positive image and say that we are now "alive to God in Christ." And he insists that this transition from death to life has already taken place—really and truly—in the death and resurrection of Christ. It has happened in the spiritual realm, the "heavenlies." And that means, of course, that we can't witness this change with our naked eyes. If I become a Christian on Tuesday, I may not feel all that different on Wednesday. It's true that some new believers are immediately and radically delivered from previous sins. I grew up on a steady diet of conversion testimonies in which such stories were told: a man was an alcoholic and philanderer until one day—wham—just like that he makes a clean start. This wasn't my experience. For the rest of us, transition may be much less dramatic. But that makes it no less real.

Paul knew very well that his readers were likely converts of the less dramatic sort. In fact, that's the point of his entire discussion in this section of Romans. After explaining the metaphysical realities of our association with Christ in his death and resurrection, Paul brings the point home. "In the same way," he writes, "count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:11). In other words, it's not enough simply to know that we are new creations; we have to embrace the concept, and that means changing our behavior.

At this point Paul gives two commands in the active voice: "do not let sin reign" in your bodies and "Do not offer any part of yourself to sin" (vv. 12-13). To keep on sinning would be inconsistent with your new character as one who is "dead to sin." It would be a bit like speaking in a phony accent. To be dead to sin means sin is alien to us. It's out of character.

What Paul is getting at here is that we have to take active steps in order to stop sinning. The power of sin is broken, which means that we can have success in our striving against sin. Our shackles have been unlocked. But we have to take the steps to leave the dungeon. In other words, all our struggles and weaknesses don't vanish when we become Christians. The life of faith will always involve temptation. It will also likely include falling short. But we can struggle knowing that victory is secured in Christ.

Giving the Spirit a Fighting Chance

In other places, Paul uses the metaphor of clothing to describe the way Christians ought to think about their relationship to sin. He encourages them to "take off" the old nature (sin) and "put on" virtues appropriate for a new creation in Christ (Eph. 4:22-32; Col. 3:8-10). This is more easily said than done. Old habits die hard. If we want to let Christ reign in our lives through the Holy Spirit, then we have to make a concerted effort to abandon the behaviors that characterize being dead to sin.

For centuries, Christians have used spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting to achieve a life of victory over sin. The disciplines orient the heart and will toward Christ and weaken the power of sin. They aren't magic spells. And they don't accomplish anything on their own. God uses them to do his work in us. In his now classic book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster explains, "God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us." All this is to say that actively "putting off" our old, sinful behaviors and "putting on" the new behaviors characteristic of life in Christ help break our sin habits. Spiritual disciplines give the Holy Spirit a chance to produce spiritual fruit in our lives.

If you are a Christian who continues to struggle with sin you just can't shake, don't lose hope. Don't buy the world's message that sin is inevitable. Take heart from Paul's extraordinary claim: "you have been raised with Christ" (Col. 3:1)! As far as God is concerned, you are dead to sin, freed from its power. Like the prodigal son who finally looked up from the mud and slop of the pigsty to realize that he did not belong there, embrace your identity as a child of God made alive to Christ. And strive knowing God has already won the victory.

God bless you..